Recent changes in Name Image & Likeness (NIL) regulations have drastically changed the college sports landscape, paving the way for college athletes to make money through endorsements, sponsorships, and other promotional opportunities. From both an institutional standpoint and a professional sports standpoint, both teams in Washington are adapting to this new reality, using competitive intelligence to help the NIL market. In this case, competitive intelligence (aka NIlgence) refers to looking at (and understanding) NIL opportunities, looking at market trends, and identifying partnerships that fit well with the athlete’s brand and values.
Competitive intelligence is especially important in this new NIL world as it helps reveal how other teams, athletes, and organizations think about athlete partnerships so that Washington teams can decide on their strategies and tailor them accordingly. These teams can use competitive intelligence tools to refine recruitment and athlete branding and build strong relationships with local and national sponsors.
To help you better understand how Washington sports teams are utilizing competitive intelligence to succeed in the NIL landscape, we put together this closer look.
Table of Contents
1. Finding (tracking) Competitors’ NIL Deals and Partnerships
Competitive intelligence is one of the primary ways Washington sports teams keep an eye on what NIL deal types and/or partnerships competitors are forging. Teams can determine which brands want to partner with athletes and use this to find where they can align with their athletes’ personal brands and values. Competitive intelligence tools can bring that information to light—the industries in play, the terms of sponsorship agreements, and how marketers are approaching these deals.
For instance, when a Washington-based college football player notices other teams’ players parlaying endorsement deals with nutrition brands, their team could try to do the same in order to maintain the player’s competitiveness in their earning potential. Additionally, teams are able to track competitors’ NIL activity and are able to identify gaps in the market, and thereby potential new partnerships with brands that are new to the NIL space.
2. Positioning Athletes for Success with Market Trends Analysis
Competitive intelligence keeps Washington’s sports teams apprised of market trends so that they can create NIL strategies that flawlessly unite brands and athletes. Tools can help teams pin down which industries are increasingly involved in NIL deals (i.e. fitness, fashion, tech, financial services). This is essential information for teams aiming to steer their athletes towards long term partnerships and brand alignment.
With the data, if there is an increase in fashion-related NIL deals, for example, nationwide across college athletes, then perhaps Washington teams could encourage athletes who have an interest in style to check out fashion endorsement deals. However, competitive intelligence can also help spot emerging social media platforms or marketing channels, like TikTok or Twitch, where athletes can expand their online brand awareness as well as pull in interest from the brand.
3. Improving Athlete Recruitment Strategies
Athletes now have a new layer on their recruitment: NIL. With the help of competitive intelligence, Washington programs in sports can better build their recruitment pitches, highlighting the NIL benefits athletes will receive and the brand partnerships they’ll be involved in for joining their teams.
Recruiters can use competitive intelligence tools to help track NIL success stories of athletes throughout the country in an attempt to learn how schools are helping their players get endorsement deals, marketing exposure and media presence. This data can be used to share this information with recruits so that they know exactly how the Washington team empowers athletes to reach their maximum potential with NIL! It also provides Washington teams with an edge in understanding how competing programs are preparing to market NIL support and identify the elements of an offering that will resonate with potential athletes and their families.
4. Relationships with Local Brands
The NIL landscape provides local brand partnerships that are very valuable, and competitive intelligence can help Washington teams identify companies they may want to work with. In analyzing other teams’ relationship with regional sponsor, we can understand the kinds of businesses that were looking for athletes partnership and then start engaging with them.
By way of example, if we see local tech companies beginning to partner with college athletes more, Washington teams can then reach out to businesses that are similar. These relationships help the local community and are built with athletes in authentic partnerships that are relevant to their fans.
Competitive intelligence can also assist teams in monitoring local brand sponsorship effectiveness in various regions and adapt from successful collaborations creating sponsorships that will resonate with Washington’s expansive fan base. Teams can then be built up with a strong network of regional sponsors that benefit the teams, the athletes, there local economy.
5. Enhancing Engagement and Social Media Strategies
College athletes find their social media presence is just as important as the NIL contracts they are able to secure, and competitive intelligence can help Washington teams increase athletes’ social media engagement. By looking at how athletes and teams put together successful NIL partnerships, Washington programs can watch for content trends, engagement tactics and posting schedules that work for followers.
The competitive intelligence tools identify which kinds of posts (e.g. training clips, lifestyle, behind-the-scenes videos) get the most engagement with fans and potential sponsors. One example would be if real athletes are getting noticed with weekly Q&As and live streams, then Washington athletes can try that to grow supporters and get visibility.
In addition, Washington teams can leverage competitor insights to know what the hottest hashtags are, what time’s best to post, and what level of engagement athletes are achieving — keeping their athletes tuned in and youthful in the eyes of sponsors looking to tap onto social media influence.
Final Notes
In navigating the NIL marketplace, it is important to understand market trends, athlete preferences and sponsorship dynamics. Washington sports teams are using competitive intelligence on the business of sports to better guide athletes towards lucrative partnerships, becoming more effective in recruitment strategies, and positioning athletes for NIL success.
However, by staying updated on competitors’ questions as well as social media trends and identifying potential sponsors, Washington sports programs can develop a strong representative system based on NIL support, athletes can gain more power, and Team branding can be fortified through this network.
